Sir, - In the recent media and public discourse on newly arrived immigrants to this country, the words used have a relevance to the formation of opinions and prejudices. The use of flow metaphors, such as "stream", "flood", "deluge", "swamp", "tide" has been evident, as if to emphasise the threatening facets of immigration in the mind-set of some people. I note one of the recent correspondents to your letters page spoke of "opening the floodgates". In the light of what I perceive to be a disordered use of language, it behoves us all to remember that language is not a neutral instrument, but as Dwight Bolinger in his book Language - The Loaded Weapon, says: "It is a thousand ways biased". - Is mise, Deirdre Ni Chuanachain,
Glenbrook,
Co Cork.